One of the dirty secrets about many, if not most, congressmen and senators is that they like Washington, D.C., rhetoric notwithstanding. They want to stay in town after they leave (or lose) office. Once you’ve tasted the Capital of the Free World, do you really want to go back to Pierre, South Dakota? (Tom Daschle comes to mind…). It’s funny how many politicians, having made a career out of bashing War-Shing-Tun, don’t…seem…to…ever…leave.

I can’t blame them: I moved to Boston, and would be very happy to stay here. Places do grow on you. The problem comes, for politicians, when they have to find a job. For an ex-politician, there aren’t that many ‘straight paths’ to getting your next job: lobbyist and corporate board member are the easiest and the most lucrative.

But if you get a reputation as someone who opposes large business interests, what chance do you have of getting either of these types of jobs? Sometimes, the quid pro quo is very crude and direct (e.g., Billy Tauzin), but the Village’s political culture makes it clear what is acceptable. One should not be ‘populist’, or, heaven forbid, liberal.

Another ethical failure of our elite educational system. While James Fallows seems shocked, this happens all the time. Orszag doesn’t see anything unethical about this, because all of his friends and colleagues routinely do this (or would like to). Somewhere along the line, ethics no longer meant, well, living ethically. Instead, ethical behavior meant ‘not being convicted.’ The problem, as I noted, is that, in Orszag’s circles, this isn’t seen as bad behavior, so shaming wouldn’t work.